as in immoral
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
chastised by his minister for his sinful behavior
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in badness
the state or quality of being utterly evil
private diaries reveal that the torturers came to realize the unspeakable sinfulness of their actions and were ever afterwards haunted by nightmares
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sinful
Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2025
Gregory argued that Magdalene should be understood as highly sinful, referring to a story, in the Book of Luke, in which Jesus exorcised seven demons from her body.
—Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
WalletHub set out to find the least and most sinful states in the U.S.
—Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2025
Driven by a religious mandate to purify society by stopping sinful behavior, the AFMRS’s missionaries provided direct outreach to low-income areas.
—Jenna Deep, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sinful
Adjective
April 20: Projections showed A Minecraft Movie remaining atop the box office this Easter weekend, but audiences actually felt more sinful than predicted.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2025
Gregory argued that Magdalene should be understood as highly sinful, referring to a story, in the Book of Luke, in which Jesus exorcised seven demons from her body.
—Eliza Griswold, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
WalletHub set out to find the least and most sinful states in the U.S.
—Ben Kesslen, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2025
Driven by a religious mandate to purify society by stopping sinful behavior, the AFMRS’s missionaries provided direct outreach to low-income areas.
—Jenna Deep, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sinful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sinful
Adjective
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In the age of print, Hamburg was the birthplace of magazine publishing, and Paris the birthplace of the literary review and the gossip rag; but restless, immoral London was where the advice column first transformed people’s private lives into object lessons for ethical behavior.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
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The film gathers immoral cops, ruthless women and corrupt politicians to complete the world of populist cinema based in hinterlands of India.—
Sweta Kaushal,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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In Twin Peaks, Deputy Chief Hawk and Sheriff Frank Truman—filling in for ailing brother Frank—work on following a lead phoned in by an ailing Log Lady, while Richard Horne, son of Audrey Horne and Cooper’s evil double, spiraling into depravity and addiction, kills a child in a hit-and-run.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
20 June 2025
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Unfortunately, those lofty first-act ambitions give way to something much more formulaic, as Buzz joins forces with the usual ragtag bunch of misfits to battle the evil Emperor Zurg.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
20 June 2025
Noun
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Throughout, the novel chips away at its foundational questions: Does there exist a punishment equal to the atrocity of killing one’s child?—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
9 June 2025
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The story of the atrocity is still being unearthed 140 years later.—
Stephen Miller,
Bluesky Social,
5 June 2025
Adjective
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She was convicted in 1995 on nine charges, including conspiracy to remove body parts and unlawful authorization of the removal of eyes, hearts, lungs and brains from corpses.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
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Nonetheless, this latest ruling may embolden such plaintiffs in California and elsewhere to assert unlawful discrimination claims with greater confidence and, perhaps, greater frequency.—
Dan Eaton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 June 2025
Adjective
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That’s 663 days between pitching appearances – and 663 days since fans caught a glimpse of his wicked four-seam fastball and splitter.—
Julia Andersen,
CNN Money,
16 June 2025
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To its credit, Seattle responded strongly after the break and pulled one back when Cristian Roldan’s header took a wicked deflection and snuck into the Botafogo net.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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The Baloncesto Superior Nacional league announced Tuesday that Cousins was kicked off the Mets de Guaynabo after a vile gesture toward a fan, grabbing his genitals to mock the fan as the fan flipped both his middle fingers.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2025
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Today's extradition is a giant step forward in holding the defendant accountable for his unspeakably reprehensible and vile efforts to spread fear, chaos, and hate.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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The Republican tax bill could push food assistance in Colorado into a vicious cycle of funding cuts, increasing mistakes in determining eligibility and further funding cuts to punish those mistakes, Gov. Jared Polis warned in a letter to congressional leaders Friday.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
16 June 2025
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Plaschke delivers a vicious uppercut to his opponent.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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Trump has lauded Israel's strikes and previously warned of much worse to come unless Iran quickly accepts the sharp downgrading of its nuclear program the U.S. has demanded in talks that had been due to resume on June 15.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
16 June 2025
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Bane is a 41 percent career 3-point shooter who, in his five prior seasons, never shot worse than 38.1 percent from deep in a season.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sinful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sinful. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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